U.S. Center for SafeSport - Keeping Young Athletes Safe

In response to highly publicized instances of sexual abuse in sport and countless survivor stories of abuse, the U.S. Congress passed the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. In addition, Congress appropriated funding in FY 2018, as well as in each subsequent fiscal year, to the SMART Office to make awards that address these critical issues. Funds have been awarded through a competitive peer review process and supplemented in subsequent years.

In FY 2022, Keep Young Athletes Safe grant funds will be authorized as a supplement to FY 2021 funding awarded to the U.S. Center for SafeSport (the Center). The Center proposes to use this funding to continue to support a multi-pronged strategy to meet the requirements of the Keep Young Athletes Safe grant program, building upon its current education, policy and compliance work to address abuse in youth athletic programs of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The Center will deliver additional education and training, with a focus on reaching beyond the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and Paralympic Sports Organizations (PSOs), into local clubs and affiliates.

In addition, the Center will continue to develop, revise, and implement policies to prevent abuse in youth sports and continue its audit and compliance work, supporting NGBs, PSOs, and the USPOC to help prevent and respond to the abuse of minor athletes. The Center’s work will benefit athletes, coaches, administrators, volunteers, parents, and NGB, PSO, and USPOC staff, and will continue to adhere to local, state and federal law, as it pertains to reporting child abuse.

Deliverables include new policies, educational offerings, technical assistance, increased communication strategies, and partnerships with child abuse experts, advocacy organizations, coaches, administrators, parents and others.

Sexual abuse and misconduct are significant issues impacting youth across the U.S., and within sports. The effects of sexual abuse and misconduct on children are long-lasting. In response to highly publicized instances of sexual abuse in sports and countless survivor stories of abuse, the U.S. Congress passed the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 in early 2018.

In 2016, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) contracted with the U.S. Center for SafeSport (the Center) to address the growing need to address sexual abuse in youth amateur and sports and in 2017, the Center opened its doors. The Protecting Young Victims Act further authorized the Center to serve as the sole statutorily required, independent national safe sport organization serving the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movements (approximately 12 million people). The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 further strengthened the Center’s mission to protect athletes from abuse. Its charge is to provide an independent place for reports of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse and misconduct, provide a response and resolution process for those reports, develop training, education, policies and procedures to prevent abuse, and to establish a compliance and audit program for National Governing Bodies (NGBs), Paralympic Sports Organizations (PSOs), and the USOPC. The Center’s work benefits athletes, coaches, administrators, volunteers, parents, and NGB, PSO, and USPOC staff.

The Center proposes a multi-pronged strategy to meet the requirements of the Keep Young Athletes Safe 2023 grant program, building upon its current education, policy, investigations, and compliance work to address abuse in youth athletic programs. The Center will deliver additional education and training, with a focus on reaching beyond the NGBs and PSOs, into local clubs and affiliates. It will continue to develop, revise, and implement policies to prevent abuse in youth sports and continue its audit and compliance work, supporting NGBs, PSOs, and the USOPC to prevent and respond to the abuse of minor athletes. Deliverables include new policies, educational offerings, technical assistance, increased communication strategies, and partnerships with child abuse experts, advocacy organizations, coaches, administrators, parents, and others. The Center will also continue to adhere to local, state, and federal law as it pertains to reporting child abuse.